Bagnoli Urban Regeneration: A 30-Year Odyssey Nears Completion
Bagnoli, a district in Naples, has endured three decades of industrial pollution and ongoing legal challenges. The ILVA steel plant, which operated from the early 1900s until its shutdown in 1992, left behind significant contamination. Cleanup efforts commenced in 1994, and by around 2000, Bagnoli Futura was created; however, progress was hindered by legal issues and a 2013 arson incident. A new governance framework has since rejuvenated the initiative, resulting in the 2019 Environmental Remediation and Urban Regeneration Program (PRARU), which was updated in 2021. The selected project, Balneolis by S.B. ARCH. BARGONE ASSOCIATI, envisions a 120-hectare urban park. Additionally, the sports park by Pica Ciamarra Associati, which was vandalized after a partial opening in 2013, is scheduled to debut in June 2025.
Key facts
- Bagnoli's industrial history began in 1853 with Vetreria Lefevre.
- ILVA steel plant closed in 1992, leaving contamination.
- Bagnoli Futura was the transformation company established around 2000.
- Arson attack on Città della Scienza occurred on March 4, 2013.
- New governance: mayor of Naples as commissioner, Invitalia as implementer.
- PRARU environmental plan was drafted in 2019 and modified in 2021.
- Eternit removal completed 2022-2023; land remediation nearly finished.
- Sea fill may be capped in situ instead of removed.
- Winning competition project: Balneolis by Bargone Associati.
- Sports park by Pica Ciamarra Associati to open June 2025.
Entities
Artists
- Lamont Young
- Carlo De Cristofaro
Institutions
- ANIAI Campania
- ILVA
- Italsider
- Bagnoli Futura SpA
- Invitalia
- Città della Scienza
- S.B. ARCH. BARGONE ASSOCIATI
- Pica Ciamarra Associati
- Museo Virtuale di Architettura
- Il Sole 24 ORE
- Artribune
Locations
- Bagnoli
- Naples
- Italy
- Campania
- Nisida
- Miseno
- Pozzuoli
- Posillipo
- Campi Flegrei